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Innovation: Because newer vehicles provide little or no vacuum power to operate braking, Continental developed a vacuumless approach that integrates the tandem master cylinder, brake booster and modulation system in a one-box package. The system requires fewer components and allows for a tunable brake pedal.

Innovation: Dana's adaptive solution results in cleaner crankcase gases, which are critical for the growing number of turbocharged and direct-injection engines. Dana modified its MultiTwister air/oil separator to generate turbulence in the gas flow, causing oil particles to coalesce rather than escaping into the air intake.

Innovation: Delphi, working with BMW, has made it possible to operate vehicle infotainment devices through specific hand gestures, without the driver needing to look away from the road. The innovation incorporates an overhead infrared camera that reads hand motions in a field above the center console.

Innovation: JTEKT Toyoda has integrated the gear manufacturing work of five machines into one process. The result, incorporating a rotary table that took 10 years to develop, allows for high-speed synchronization to produce parts with greater accuracy, less cost and less waste.

Innovation: Mahle has developed a process for laser-welding any two-piece steel piston for use in light-vehicle diesel engines. The innovation requires half the time of a traditional machining process, and yields a design that minimizes the impact of laser welds.

Innovation: Sanhua's valve will allow heating and air conditioning systems to address the higher pressures that will come with new refrigerants that have been mandated. The valve also can handle dual applications for cooling and vehicle heat pumps.

Innovation: Aperia's Halo automatic tire inflation system is a self-powered, bolt-on device that uses a wheel's rotation to maintain optimal tire pressure on dual and wide-based tires on drive and trailer axles. Optimal tire pressure could help commercial operators save thousands of dollars a year per vehicle.

Innovation: Autoneum has developed a new approach to manufacturing a hybrid acoustic absorbing and insulating material for vehicles. The patented process results in a material that is half the weight of traditional vehicle insulation.

Innovation: While developed for engine compartment functions, Bosch's new intelligent actuator lets vehicle designers apply electric control to a variety of systems, including axles, brakes, steering and suspension. The distributed control system eliminates wiring harnesses and speeds control feedback loops.

Innovation: Continental has made its TCA (Tough Class A) Ultra Lite 1.2 composite material a rival to large aluminum body panels by cutting its weight, reducing its cost and improving its surface quality. The innovations make this composite material more attractive than aluminum on low-volume vehicles.

Innovation: Dana's optimized tire pressure management system monitors and adjusts tire pressure in real time for use on drive and steer axle tires in the heavy-truck sector. The product automatically adjusts tire pressure with no driver involvement and without the use of in-tire sensors.

Innovation: Dana developed a five-layer steel transmission pump gasket that can perform securely under pressure up to 480 pounds per square inch. This thin multilayer-steel approach replaces traditional elastomeric seals to support the higher-pressure operating characteristics of new eight-, nine- and 10-speed transmissions.

Innovation: Delphi developed a higher performing but more affordable 360-degree sensing system using 76 gigahertz. The enhancement and special antenna can work in complex and cluttered environments and discriminate among multiple stationary and moving objects or pedestrians at greater distances.

Innovation: The latest innovation of Denso's diesel common rail system operates at the high pressures of current diesel engines while incorporating a feedback system that can precisely vary combustion timing and fuel spray. This enables a significant improvement in performance needed to meet stringent new emission rules.

Innovation: To make driving Class 6 and 7 trucks easier in an era when qualified truck drivers are harder to find, Eaton and BorgWarner teamed up to create a transmission that shifts more smoothly and with greater fuel efficiency. With computer-controlled shifting, the transmission provides a gentler "creep function" start and a hill-assist feature to give drivers a greater feel of control.

Innovation: Firstronic is producing circuit boards with double-sided soldering that requires only a single pass through assembly. Because the boards do not have to be flipped and put through the line a second time, manufacturing cost is lower and quality rates are higher.

Innovation: For the specialty-vehicle world of police cars, ambulances and taxis, Flex Automotive has introduced an electronic controller that allows sirens, lights, door activators and lifts to change with greater ease. Flex's controller can be reprogrammed, avoiding rewiring of the vehicle when features change.

Innovation: By creating a controlled vortex of air in a paint booth, Giffin has improved the process of removing overspray from the air. The customizable innovation means lower energy consumption, less booth cleaning and less paint shop investment.

Innovation: GKN's integrated co-axial electric axle and electric motor system simplifies the design of plug-in hybrids. The electric motor's output is used as the transmission input shaft, resulting in a smaller and lighter electric drivetrain.

Innovation: Because heating and cooling an electric or hybrid car consumes battery power, Hanon Systems has devised a simple and low-energy ball valve approach as a heat pump solution, providing heat flow in one valve position and cooling in the other.

Innovation: IAC has created a lightweight sunroof frame constructed from natural fibers: hemp and kenaf. The materials are easier to mold than steel, resulting in lower tooling costs and a more flexible design to accommodate different sunroof shapes.

Innovation: Koito's auto-leveling control system with added acceleration sensor allows LED headlamps to adjust as a vehicle's load or road angle changes. The system is safer and resulted in a 60 percent weight reduction from previous designs.

Innovation: It is no bigger than a license plate, but NVIDIA's new autonomous driving control system, DRIVE PX 2, is capable of processing 24 trillion operations a second as it monitors a 360-degree view of a drive. It also uses deep learning to continually respond to driving conditions, a key step toward vehicle autonomy.

Innovation: OEConnection's MyPriceLink has helped reverse the decline in original equipment market share for collision parts by building an original equipment parts pricing system that integrated into the software of repair-estimating shops. The tool allows original equipment parts suppliers to compete more effectively against aftermarket parts.

Innovation: The steering wheel-based touch control system lets a driver navigate all instrument cluster functions and central display content without releasing the wheel. Finger movements are detected through a high-energy light source and high-definition signal processing.

Innovation: Using low-weight reinforced thermoplastics as a noise-reducing material, Roechling dropped the sound level of air flowing from the vehicle air conditioning system. The air manifold reduces decibel levels, while also improving airflow efficiency.

Innovation: Schaeffler's electromechanical approach to active roll control ensures that a vehicle does not tilt sideways when cornering at high speeds, resulting in greater driving comfort and stability.

Innovation: Using lighter-weight stamped components in place of machined parts, Schaeffler has created a one-way clutch that allows for smoother shifting with no lurching at high rpms. The innovation is beneficial for rear-wheel vehicles and critical for new 10-speed transmissions.

Innovation: A three-way collaboration by TI, Bosch and Ford led to an EcoBoost engine that merged port and direct fuel injection technologies. Port injection increases efficiency and reduces noise on the low end, while direct injection optimizes engine performance and output on the high end.

Innovation: Valeo has taken its Park4U to a new level of technology, allowing drivers to remotely park a vehicle in parallel, perpendicular or garage parking scenarios. The system links an owner's smartphone with a physical key and cloud-based security recognition and permits automakers to add control features on a subscription basis.

Innovation: By making a plastic mirror work with high-precision coating and a new molding process, Yazaki significantly increased the viewable area of its head-up display reflection while shrinking the size of the entire package.